152. The role played by political parties in oversight of electoral procedures has also evolved. In the early days of representative democracy it was often the political parties who participated in organizing elections (in the EMB) and resolving electoral disputes (in the EDRBs). Their representatives served as polling officials at the polling stations and in the entities that administered the various phases of the election and resolved disputes, making the relevant decisions. This active decision-making function with respect to the electoral process has gradually been transformed into one of oversight and supervision of the work entrusted to the electoral authorities, which in general they no longer serve on – at least not with a right to vote, although several systems still confer decision-making powers on them at various stages or provide that they can have a seat on the relevant bodies. a) EDR systems entrusted to a legislative body or another political assembly 153. Some EDRSs vest the power of final decision on the validity of elections, including any challenges brought, in the legislature, one of its committees or some other political assembly. In the French tradition this has been called ‘verification of powers’ and in the US tradition ‘qualification or certification of elections’. 154. This is the oldest type of EDR system. It is associated with the origin of parliaments in the UK, even though by 1868 the British EDRS had been entrusted to a regular court. Even though in their origins the legislature or presumptive legislators may have certified or judged the election of their respective members, the advent of presidential elections in several countries meant that final jurisdiction for certifying an election result was also entrusted to political assemblies (in bicameral systems, this was often done in a joint session of the two chambers). An EDRS entrusted to a political assembly was adopted in France from the Estates General (États-Généraux) in the 18th century until the 1958 constitution. In the United States it was established by the 1787 constitution. Entrusting the EDRS to legislative 63 5. A general classification of EDR systems political negotiation that are often found when an EDRS is entrusted to legislative organs or political assemblies. This trend even holds in the EDR systems that still confer the power of final decision on the legislature or one of its chambers (as in the United States or Italy), so long as they provide for prior challenges before judicial organs: this probably makes it difficult for the legislative body, which is political in nature, to overturn a judicial decision. Another indicator of this trend is that some of the members of EMBs are often required to come from the judicial branch, or are appointed in a similar fashion to judges with the same requirements demanded of them, or are given conditions of employment that are equivalent to those of the highest-ranking members of the judiciary.